Description

Cannonball Run II by Drew Struzan (Warner Brothers, 1984).
Original Acrylic Painting on Illustration Board (30" X 40").
Ask any serious collector who the greatest modern poster artist is,
and you will undoubtedly be met with the same response: Drew
Struzan. His distinguished work has been displayed in theater
lobbies around the world for pictures such as Blade Runner,
John Carpenter's The Thing, the Back to the Future
trilogy, First Blood, The Goonies, Big Trouble in
Little China, three Indiana Jones films, and so many
more. Prior to entering the world of movie posters, a
fresh-from-college Struzan found work creating album covers for the
likes of The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Black Sabbath, Iron
Butterfly, Liberace, and Alice Cooper (for whom he did the artwork
for Welcome to My Nightmare). In the mid-1970s, he started
constructing poster art for B-movies such as Empire of the
Ants and Squirm, which helped in building and perfecting
his airbrush skills. What brought the artist to the head of the
line of poster design, however, was his work on a sci-fi film by
the name of Star Wars. Struzan and fellow artist Charles
White III collectively put together the style D/Circus design,
considered by many to be the greatest poster produced for the
franchise. The demand for Struzan's work was paramount during the
1980s, when he would put out upwards of ten poster designs a year.
With the rise of digital manipulation in the 1990s, however, the
want of his unparalleled skills declined. Struzan would retire from
the profession in 2008 after his completion of the artwork for
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Heritage
is proud to offer, for the first time, one of Struzan's original
works from when the artisan was at the height of his career.
Cannonball Run II may not be a prestige picture or even
remembered by many, but the artwork created by Struzan for the film
is top notch. His unmatched attention to detail gives the work a
near photo like crispness. Note the appearance of light reflecting
from eyes and bouncing from facial features, as well as facial
structures so perfect, you'd swear the images were photographs.
And, unlike most poster artists, Struzan created his works to the
scale of the one sheet to be produced, creating a larger and more
attractive appearance. Aside from very minor surface scuffs, some
rippling in the lower border, and corner bumps/creases, this
original and unique piece of artwork displays wonderfully, and is a
fantastic example of Struzan's masterful skill. Struzan's work is
highly sought after and rarely comes up for auction, making this a
lot collectors will not want to let pass. Very Fine+.